As the economy recovers fiscal policy has to shift

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AS THEY FIRST battled the pandemic with lockdowns earlier this year, governments in the rich world pumped cash into the economy almost indiscriminately. Output was collapsing and the speed and scale of support rightly trumped any worries about its cost, accuracy or side-effects. Now lockdowns are easing, there are tentative signs of economic recovery (even in places where covid-19 is still raging) and political debate has shifted to whether, when, and how far to pare back these dauntingly expensive emergency fiscal policies. America’s unemployment top-up scheme expires on July 31st, Britain’s furlough scheme at the end of October. What should governments do?